Skip to main content
Delegate Access

Overview of Delegate Access

A delegate is a parent/ a guardian/ or a third party who has access to some of the students' information via a FERPA code and their own SPIRE account. Delegate Access allows the Department of Bursar, Financial Aid, and Housing to communicate with you and gives you your own SPIRE account to access more details about the student.

When setting up the delegate, the implication is they have access to their own account in SPIRE and will be able to see the finer details on your account as per your permissions set. Waiving your FERPA rights and assigning an access code allows departments to discuss your account details, again depending upon the permissions you set.

How to Get Delegate Access from your Student

All of these processes are done on the student's SPIRE account.

Add Delegate Access

  1. Navigate to Profile tile > Access & Privacy (left menu bar) > Share my information.
  2. Click on "Delegate Access To A New Contact."
  3. You must read the "Share my Information - Terms and Conditions". Click on "I accept."
  4. The FERPA Privacy Waiver tab will pop up. Please do so if you haven't assigned your parent/guardian/third party a FERPA code. More instructions will be in the FERPA Code section above. Click "Save."
  5. To create a new Delegate Access profile, you must provide their contact name, relationship to you, and contact email address. Then, choose the actions for their Delegated Access Account. These actions will be reflected on the person's SPIRE account.

For a more visual guide, follow the video here

Watch how to Delegated Access for Students

Edit or Delete Delegate Access

  1. Navigate to Profile tile > Access & Privacy (left menu bar) > Share my information.
  2. At the profile, you want to edit/delete
    • To edit the profile, Click Edit. Edit the profile, then click Save.
    • To remove the profile, Click Delete, then click Yes - Delete.

After getting a Delegate Access

First-time users: If this is your first time using delegated access


Non-first-time users: If you have used delegated access before for a student and now want to add another student

FERPA Code

Overview of the FERPA Code

The FERPA Code allows the Bursar Department, Financial Aid, and Housing to communicate with you. However, this does not give you your own SPIRE account to see more details about the student. When requesting information such as financial aid, bursar bills, and housing assignments from the Bursar Office via phone call or email, you must give a FERPA Code to our customer service team. The FERPA Code guarantees that your student has given consent to your accessing their records.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is federal legislation that establishes guidelines governing how educational institutions maintain and supervise student records. The law is intended to ensure student records are used for legitimate educational purposes and to control the release of records. The law prohibits the release of records without the student's prior consent to any third party, including parents.

How to get a FERPA Code from your student?

All of these processes are done on the student's SPIRE account.

Add or Edit Designee

  1. Navigate to the Profile tile > Access & Privacy (left menu bar) > FERPA Privacy Waiver.
  2. If you haven't done so, you must read the Waiver Provisions and click I Agree on the FERPA Privacy Waiver Introduction Page.
  3. On the Add/Edit Designee page, enter up to four designees. You need to provide.
    • The person's first and last name
    • The type of information you would like for them to access: HousingFinancial Aid & Bursar information, or both.
    • Assign each designee an Access Code. The Designee must provide their access code when contacting the University on your behalf. Make sure each designee knows their access code and the types of information you have granted access to.
  4. Click Save.

Remove Designee

  1. Navigate to the Profile tile > Access & Privacy (left menu bar) > FERPA Privacy Waiver.
  2. Click the "Remove This Designee?" button next to any designee you wish to remove. Alternatively, you can click the "Remove All Designees?" checkbox to remove all of your designees. 
  3. Click Save. If you made a mistake and don't wish to save your changes, click SPIRE's back arrow or any item on the left menu bar. When a pop-up appears, click No to discard your changes.

After getting a FERPA Code

When you contact the Bursar’s Office with questions, our staff will ask for the FERPA Privacy Code. This is the 4-digit code that the student has entered on a parent’s behalf. We will then verify the code and ensure that financial information has been selected as reliable. If the parent is not listed as a designee or provides an incorrect access code, we cannot speak to the parent about a student’s bill.

Information that can be shared with any person with a FERPA code:

  • Bursar account balance: charges, payment plans, overdue amounts, etc.
  • Pending or prior financial aid awards and current disbursements
  • Tuition and fee waivers, scholarship refunds and student account status
  • University-maintained loan disbursements and repayment history
  • Health insurance waiver status
  • Withdrawal dates
  • Related sanction data
  • Your current and future housing assignments and directory information
  • On-campus housing requirements, preferences, eligibility, obligations, fees, and refunds